New study describes the evolutionary tale of poisonous butterflies. Reviewed by Emily Henderson. news-medical.net.Feb 8 2021. The Atala butterfly (Eumaeus atala) and its five closest relatives in the genus Eumaeus like to display their toxicity. This sextet’s toxicity comes from what they eat as caterpillars: plants called cycads that have been around since before dinosaurs […]

Unique report details dermatological progression and effective treatment of a severe jellyfish sting. sciencedaily.com, September 5, 2019. Summary: A detailed case report documents the dermatological progression of a patient stung by a jellyfish off the coast of Cambodia. The aim of this report is to guide clinicians and patients to understand what to expect after […]

Hundreds of sharks and rays tangled in plastic. eurekalert.org. July 04, 2019. Hundreds of sharks and rays have become tangled in plastic waste in the world’s oceans, new research shows. University of Exeter scientists scoured existing published studies and Twitter for shark and ray entanglements, and found reports of more than 1,000 entangled individuals. And […]

Deadly box jellyfish antidote discovered using CRISPR genome editing. sciencedaily.com. April 30, 2019. Pain researchers uncover secrets to box jellyfish venom. Summary: Researchers studying how pain works have discovered an antidote to the deadly sting delivered by the most venomous creature on Earth — the Australian box jellyfish. A single sting to a human causes […]

Toxicological trivia from August 05, 2016: Clownfish or anemonefish are fishes from the subfamily Amphiprioninae in the family Pomacentridae. Thirty species are recognized: one in the genus Premnas, while the remaining are in the genus Amphiprion. In the wild, they all form symbiotic mutualisms with sea anemones. Depending on species, anemonefish are overall yellow, orange, […]

Toxicological trivia from July 08, 2016: Starfish or sea stars are star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea. About 1,500 species of starfish occur on the seabed in all the world’s oceans, from the tropics to frigid polar waters. They are found from the intertidal zone down to abyssal depths, 6,000 meters below the surface. […]

Lionfish invading the Mediterranean Sea. sciencedaily.com. June 28, 2016. Rising temperatures, Suez Canal widening open the door to invasive species. Summary: Rising sea temperatures in the Mediterranean are encouraging alien lionfish species to invade and colonize new territories with potentially serious ecological and socioeconomic impacts.Rising sea temperatures in the Mediterranean are encouraging alien lionfish species […]

Toxins related to ‘red tides’ found in home aquarium. sciencedaily.com. January 13, 2016. Summary: Many shore residents and beach-goers are already familiar with the health risks of ‘red tide,’ algal blooms along coastlines that can trigger respiratory illness and other effects in people who inhale the toxins the algae release. Now scientists report new evidence […]

Neon Blue Creature spotted on Australian Beach. By Diana Bretting. perfscience.com. November 16, 2015. A neon blue creature that seems like a tie-dyed can be seen not only in a science fiction movie, as it was washed up on an Australian beach recently. The blobby creature was seen by a local on the foreshore at […]

Hurricanes helped accelerate spread of lionfish. sciencedaily.com. March 04, 2015. Summary: Just when you thought hurricanes couldn’t get any scarier, think again. Their names roll of the tongue like a rogues’ gallery: Floyd, Frances, Irene, Wilma and Andrew. But these aren’t the names of notorious criminals; rather, they are just a few of the hurricanes […]

Toxicological Trivia from February 18, 2015: In the Trivia # 230 we mentioned that sea anemones are a group of water-dwelling, predatory animals of the order Actiniaria. They are named for the anemone, a terrestrial flower.  Sea anemones use venomous stinging tentacles to stun their prey, but one component of that venom is being used […]

Food affected by Fukushima disaster harms animals, even at low-levels of radiation, study shows.sciencedaily.com. sciencedaily.com. Summary: Butterflies eating food collected from cities around the Fukushima nuclear meltdown site showed higher rates of death and disease, according to a study. "Our study demonstrated that eating contaminated foods could cause serious negative effects on organisms. Such negative effects may […]

Toxicological trivia from July 10, 2014: Scorpaena scrofa is the largest eastern Atlantic scorpion fish.Colouration ranges from brick-red to a light pink, and it has dark coloured blotches on its body. It has venomous spines, can achieve a maximum weight of approximately 3 kilograms (6.6 lb).It can grow to a maximum length of 50 centimetres […]

NOAA scientists find mosquito control pesticide use in coastal areas poses low risk to juvenile oysters, hard clams. noaanews.noaa.gov. June 09, 2014, Climate stressors, however, increase risk to shellfish. Four of the most common mosquito pesticides used along the east and Gulf coasts show little risk to juvenile hard clams and oysters, according to a […]

Forecast possible for Irukandji box jellyfish blooms. By Rebecca Morelle. bbcnwes. May 14,2014.The sudden arrival of huge blooms of box jellyfish can now be predicted, a study suggests. Researchers from Australia say that monitoring changes in ocean winds can help to establish where and when Irukandji jellyfish will strike.The study is published in the Journal […]

Sea anemones venom key to Multiple Sclerosis treatment. healthcanal.com. July 22, 2012. Sea anemones use venomous stinging tentacles to stun their prey, but one component of that venom is being used by researchers to treat the debilitating effects of Multiple Sclerosis (MS).A new class of drug treatment is about to commence clinical trials, as the […]

Sea anemones venom key to Multiple Sclerosis treatment. healthcanal.com. July 22, 2012. Sea anemones use venomous stinging tentacles to stun their prey, but one component of that venom is being used by researchers to treat the debilitating effects of Multiple Sclerosis (MS).A new class of drug treatment is about to commence clinical trials, as the […]

Slow snails, fast genes: Predatory snails refine venoms through continuous gene duplication. ns.umich.edu. Mar 29, 2012.By Jim Erickson. When tropical marine cone snails sink their harpoon-like teeth into their prey, they inject paralyzing venoms made from a potent mix of more than 100 different neurotoxins.Biologists have known for more than a decade that the genes […]